Homeless 'Cats cap big season

June 02, 2007|BOB OPPENHEIM Tribune Staff Writer

It's been Home Sweet Road this year for the Brandywine High School boys track team. Having no home track has forced the Bobcats to make arrangements when it comes to practices and have all of their track meets away from home. "Most of the time we've practiced at home on a dirt football field," said Brandywine coach Terry Borr. "It's an old cinder track with no cinder left. "Niles High School is one of the places we've gone to for practices. Their administration has allowed us to use their track. We do hurdle work and relay work there. In the past, Buchanan High School has also helped us." Borr sees good and bad in not having a home track, which has prevented the Bobcats from having a home meet since the early 1990s. "In some sense it's not bad because you don't have to get track workers for home meets," Borr said. "But as far as a recruiting tool you don't get kids out to see what a track meet is like and how exciting it can be." Excitement has been brought to the Brandywine boys track program this spring as the Bobcats placed second at the Division 3 regional on May 18 and won the Lakeland Conference championship with their first-place showing at the league meet on May 22. "It's really tough not to have a home track, but as a team we stuck with it" said senior Justin Price. "I thought during my freshman year that we would get a track. We're pretty much a traveling track team. "It really says something to be able to win the conference and finish second at the regionals." It's the Bobcats' first conference title since 1980, and Borr, in his 17th year as the Brandywine boys track coach, is taking his most athletes ever to the state finals this Saturday. "This has been my most satisfying season," Borr said. "We've had great kids over the years, but those teams weren't as successful as this one." State qualification performances in five events at regionals -- high jump, 400 meters, 3,200 relay, 1,600 relay and 800 relay -- helped Brandywine finish second with 90 points. Schoolcraft won the regional with 101 points. Caleb Frazier, a junior who didn't compete in track last year, had a first-place leap in the high jump of 6-foot-1, while Price placed first in the 400-meters with a time of 51.5. Brandywine's 1,600-meter relay team of Ricky Wood, Brian Wieger, Frazier and Price placed first with a clocking of 3:33.6. "We were 15 meters behind going into my final leg," Price said about the 1,600-meter relay. "When I have to catch somebody I run twice as fast. It was the most intense race I've ever been in." The Bobcats' 800-meter relay team of J.D. Miller, Brett Gilpin, Price and Frazier also placed first with a time of 1:33.7. But the key event for Brandywine at the regionals was the 3,200-meter relay where Tyler Weedon, Price, Wood and Wieger placed second with a school-record time of 8:18.4. "When we got to the regionals and did the pre-entry stuff we knew that Berrien Springs, Bangor and Schoolcraft would be tough," Borr said. "We decided to keep Justin in the 3,200-meter relay and not put him in the 200-meters. We thought that might cost us some points, but we felt Schoolcraft coming in on paper looked unbeatable and we just wanted to get as many kids to state as we could." Kyle Low played a part in the 3,200-meter relay having a great regional. "Kyle was originally on the 3,200-meter relay team," Borr said. "Kyle pushed for Justin to run in it. It shows a lot of leadership on Kyle's behalf." Price appreciated Low's unselfishness. "I felt bad for Kyle," Price said. "I wanted him to go to state too. Kyle told us he didn't want to set the team back from setting a school-record in the 3,200 relay and that he would support me whether I ran the 200-meters or the 3,200-meter relay. I wound up running the fastest leg (second) in that relay." Brandywine looks to be an underdog going into the state finals this Saturday at Comstock Park in Grand Rapids. "We're not ranked in the top eight in anything, but we feel like we can compete in events and come away with some medals ( for top-eight finishes)," Borr. "Our goal is to perform as well as we have all year and have the chips fall where they may. I feel like the competition is going to bring out the best in us."